Searching for a Perfect Day

Forward Progression

Chapter 6: Forward Progression

The room is the same as how they left it the night before. It wasn't haphazard to be exact, but she knew the maids had left it well enough alone. She walks in, leaves the door wide open, and stands at the foot of the office. The first thing that gathers her attention is the painting, not the wide open safe beckoning for her attention. She looks at the entirety of it, glossing over her father's easygoing smile, her mother's firm and warm look, her own neutral wish-I-was-outside-expression, and Anna's carefree one. The urge to go back in time seizes her, knows it's impossible, so she redirects her gaze to dark confines of the semi-open safe.

After her tell-all the night before, she and Anna couldn't stay in the office for a minute longer. It was a good decision—the unspoken one to leave the rest for the next morning. A good night's rest makes for better decisions the next day, or so people say. So, they had left everything, from the bundle of letters, to her old cellphone, to whatever other contents are in the safe. She hopes, maybe vainly, that today doesn't hold anymore surprises for either of them. More than for herself, she's afraid that just one more push might be all it could take for her sister to go over the edge and begin disowning herself because of the lies the blonde had started in the first place.

It would seem like a fitting ending though—one that she rightfully deserves. Now that her sister knows everything, it would make sense that she wouldn't want anything more to do with her…and yet…

"Stop daydreaming at the door and help me with this."

She turns around, notes the tray of heaping food that the redhead is lugging around and helps her carry it without further notice.

"We can eat in the dining area," she proposes, but follows the younger girl anyway, both of them making their way to the large desk and placing what will be breakfast atop its clean surface. She looks over at what has been prepared: hash, regular bacon, Canadian bacon, breakfast sausages, sunny side up eggs, oatmeal, four different packages of Greek yogurt, three kinds of dry cereal…A shuffle from behind her gathers her attention and there is Kai coming in with another tray, this time full of liquids: a jug of milk, tea, coffee, orange juice, apple juice, regular water, Smart water, coconut juice? Not wanting to sound ungrateful, but a bit confused, she asks unsurely, "Is…everyone joining us for breakfast?" She wouldn't mind…but it's a bit different from what she's used to.

Anna chuckles sheepishly, the sound and her hesitant expression endearing to the older girl. "I…didn't know what you wanted…so I thought maybe a bit of everything?"

The thought warms her far more than she's willing to show now that they're not quite alone.

"Good morning Miss Elsa."

She nods at Kai as he places the food tray next to the other one, making quick work of distributing the food and liquids across the desk so that everything is within reach for both of them.

"Good morning Kai," she greets, smiling at him before sitting down on the straight back chair to the left. It would seem she has grown a bit fond of this chair, considering all the times she's used it in the past and how things just seem to work out heavily on her favor when on it. "Would you like to join us for breakfast? Something tells me we have enough."

He chuckles and gives a quick, friendly wink to her younger sister. "I've eaten, but thank you for the invitation Miss Elsa. I was quite surprised to see Miss Anna in the kitchen this morning, but more than that was her insistence on this small feast for your benefit."

She tries to fight the blush that's making its way from her neck to her cheeks, her wobbly smile flickering. When she has enough courage to look at the younger girl, she's somewhat happy to see the same blush riding on freckles, green-blue eyes darting at the food on the table and resolutely ignoring hers.